Law of the People's Republic of China on Civil Mediation

Order of the Chairman of the People's Republic of China No. 34

August 28, 2010

The Law of the People's Republic of China on Civil Mediation, which was adopted at the 16th session of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress on August 28, 2010, is hereby promulgated and shall come into effect as of January 1, 2011.

Chairman of the People's Republic of China: Hu Jintao

Law of the People's Republic of China on Civil Mediation

Adopted at the 16th session of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh National People's Congress on August 28, 2010

Table of Contents
Chapter I General Provisions
Chapter II Civil Mediation Committee
Chapter III People's Mediators
Chapter IV Mediation Procedure
Chapter V Mediation Agreement
Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Chapter I General Provisions

Article 1 For the purpose of improving civil mediation system, regulating civil mediation activities, timely resolving disputes among people, and maintaining the harmony and stability of society, this Law is formulated in accordance with the Constitution.

Article 2 For the purposes of this Law, "civil mediation" shall refer to the activities of civil mediation committees in promoting the parties to voluntarily reach mediation agreements through consultation on the basis of equality by persuasion, guidance and other methods to resolve disputes among people.


Article 3 In mediating disputes among people, the civil mediation committee shall follow the following principles:
1. Conduct mediation on the basis of the voluntariness and equality of the parties;
2. Do not violate laws, regulations and policies of the state; and
3. Respect the rights of parties and shall not prevent the parties from protecting their rights through such channels as arbitration, administration and judicature on the ground of mediation.

Article 4 No fee may be charged for mediation of disputes among people by civil mediation committee.

Article 5 The judicial administration department under the State Council shall be responsible for guiding the civil mediation work throughout the country and the judicial administration departments of local people's governments at or above the county level shall be responsible for guiding civil mediation work within the administrative area.
The grassroots people's courts shall provide professional guidance to civil mediation committees in mediating disputes among people.

Article 6 The state encourages and supports civil mediation work. The local people's governments at or above the county level shall provide necessary support and guarantee regarding the fund needed in the civil mediation work and shall praise and reward the civil mediation committees and civil mediators with outstanding contribution in accordance with the provisions of the state.

Chapter II Civil Mediation Committee

Article 7 The civil mediation committees are mass organizations established in accordance with law for mediating disputes among people.

Article 8 Villagers' committees and residents' committees shall establish civil mediation committees. Enterprises and public institutions shall establish civil mediation committees as required.
The civil mediation committee shall consist of three to nine commissioners, and shall have one director and may have several vice directors when necessary.
The civil mediation committee shall have women members and, if in an area where many nationalities live together, shall include a member or members from the nationality or nationalities with a smaller population.

Article 9 The commissioners of civil mediation committees under villagers' committees and residents' committees shall be elected respectively by the villagers' meetings or meetings of villagers' representatives and residents' meetings; the commissioners of civil mediation committees established by enterprises and public institutions shall be elected by workers' congress, conference of the representatives of workers or trade union organizations.
The term of office for commissioners of civil mediation committees shall be three years and can be renewed if the commissioners are reelected.

Article 10 The judicial administration department under the people's government at the county level shall make statistics of the establishment of civil mediation committees within the administrative area and timely report the information on the civil mediation committees, the personnel composition and adjustment thereof to the grassroots people's court where it is located.

Article 11 The civil mediation committees shall establish and improve various systems for mediation work, listen to public opinions, and accept the supervision of the public.

Article 12 Villagers' committees, residents' committees, enterprises, and public institutions shall provide office conditions and necessary work fund for the civil mediation committees to carry out work.

Chapter III People's Mediators

Article 13 The post of civil mediators shall be held by commissioners of civil mediation committees and by personnel employed by civil mediation committees.

Article 14 The post of civil mediators shall be held by adult citizens that are fair, decent, and enthusiastic in civil mediation work and that have certain education background, understanding of policies and legal knowledge.
The judicial administration department under people's governments at the county level shall regularly conduct professional training among civil mediators.

Article 15 If a civil mediator has any of the following conducts in mediation work, he shall be given criticism and education or be ordered to make corrections; if the circumstance is serious, he shall be removed from office or dismissed by the electing or employing unit:
1. Decide in favor of any party;
2. Insult any party or parties;
3. Demand or accept properties or seek other illegitimate benefits; or
4. Divulge the individual privacy or trade secrets of one party or parties.

Article 16 Appropriate subsidy for loss of working time shall be given to mediators engaging in mediation work; where a mediator is injured or disabled due to engaging in mediation work and has difficulties in life, the local people's government shall provide necessary medical and livelihood assistance; for a civil mediator who loses his life on the working post of civil mediation, the spouse and children thereof shall enjoy pension and preferential treatment in accordance with the provisions of the state.

Chapter IV Mediation Procedure

Article 17 The parties may apply to the civil mediation committee for mediation; the civil mediation committee may also offer to provide mediation. If one party explicitly refuses mediation, no mediation may be conducted.

Article 18 The grassroots people's courts and public security organs may inform the parties of applying to civil mediation committee for mediation before accepting the case with regard to disputes appropriate to be resolved in the manner of civil mediation.

Article 19 The civil mediation committee may, in light of the requirements for mediating disputes, appoint one or more civil mediators to conduct mediation and the parties may choose one or more civil mediators for the mediation.

Article 20 The civil mediators may, in light of the requirements for mediating disputes and after obtaining the consent of the parties, invite relatives, neighbors, colleagues, etc. of the parties to participate in the mediation and also may invite personnel with specialized knowledge and specified experience or members of relevant social organizations to participate in the mediation.
The civil mediation committee supports local fair and decent society peoples that are enthusiastic in mediation and that are accepted by masses to participate in mediation.

Article 21 When mediating disputes among people, civil mediators shall stick to principles, explain laws and bring out reasons, and redress the scales.
The mediation of disputes among people shall be conducted timely and on the spot to prevent the aggravation of conflicts.

Article 22 Civil mediators may adopt many methods to mediate disputes among people in light of the different circumstances of disputes, fully listen to the statements of the parties, explain relevant laws, regulations and policies of the state, patiently persuade, and propose dispute resolution scheme based on the equal consultation and mutual understanding and mutual accommodation to help the parties to reach a mediation agreement voluntarily.

Article 23 The parties shall enjoy the following rights in civil mediation activities:
1. Selecting or accepting civil mediators;
2. Accepting mediation, refusing mediation or requiring the termination of mediation;
3. Requiring holding the mediation openly or in privacy; and
4. Independently expressing intentions and voluntarily reaching a mediation agreement.

Article 24 The parties shall perform the following obligations in civil mediation activities:
1. Truthfully state the facts;
2. Abide by the mediation order at the scene and respect civil mediators; and
3. Respect the exercise of rights by the other party.

Article 25 In the course of the mediation of disputes, when finding that the dispute may be aggravated, civil mediators shall take pertinent preventive measures and, in case of disputes that may possibly lead to security cases and criminal cases, shall timely report to local public security organs or other relevant departments.

Article 26 In the mediation of disputes, if no mediation agreement can be reached, civil mediators shall terminate the mediation and, in accordance with provisions of relevant laws and regulations, inform the parties of rights to safeguard their rights through such channels as arbitration, administration and judicature.

Article 27 Civil mediators shall record the mediation information. The civil mediation committee shall establish the file for mediation work and put the mediation registration, record on mediation work, mediation agreement and other materials on file.

Chapter V Mediation Agreement

Article 28 Where a mediation agreement is reached through the mediation of the civil mediation committee, a written mediation agreement may be prepared. If the parties deem the preparation of a written mediation agreement unnecessary, oral agreement may be adopted and the content thereof shall be recorded by civil mediators.

Article 29 A written mediation agreement may state the following particulars:
1. Basic information of the parties;
2. Major facts of dispute, disputed matter and responsibilities of all parties; and
3. Contents of the mediation agreement reached by the parties, and method and time limit for the performance.
The written mediation agreement shall take effect on the day when it is signed or affixed with the seal or fingerprint of all parties, signed by civil mediators, and affixed with the seal of the civil mediation committee. Each party holds one copy of the written mediation agreement and the civil mediation committee shall keep one copy.

Article 30 The oral mediation agreement shall take effect on the date when the parties reach the agreement.

Article 31 The mediation agreement reached through the mediation of the civil mediation committee shall be legally binding and the parties shall perform in light of the stipulations.
The civil mediation committee shall supervise the performance of the mediation agreement and urge the parties to perform the stipulated obligations.

Article 32 After reaching a mediation agreement through the mediation of the civil mediation committee, if any dispute occurs regarding the performance or the content of the mediation agreement, a party may institute a lawsuit to the people's court.

Article 33 After reaching a mediation agreement through mediation of the civil mediation committee, two parties may, if they deem it necessary, jointly apply to the people's court for confirmation within thirty days after the mediation agreement takes effect and the people's court shall timely examine the mediation agreement and confirm the effectiveness of the mediation agreement in accordance with law.
After the people's court confirms the effectiveness of the mediation agreement in accordance with law, if one party refuses to perform or fails to perform in whole, the other party may apply to the people's court for enforcement.
If the people's court confirms that the mediation agreement is ineffective, the parties may alter the original mediation agreement or reach a new mediation agreement by means of civil mediation and may also file a lawsuit to the people's court.


Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Article 34 Townships, neighborhoods and social groups or other organizations may establish civil mediation committee by reference to relevant provisions hereof for mediation of disputes among people.

Article 35 This Law shall come into effect as of January 1, 2011.